How do you know if you’re a genius or just average (without relying on tests)?

I don’t just want to hear about high scoring on tests. I think that’s pretty obvious.

Josh Hill, American

Answered 68w ago

I'm tempted to say that if you were, you wouldn't have to ask.

Sorry if that sounds harsh but a genius, by definition, is so far beyond the rest of us that the gap is very obvious, both to the genius himself and to those around him.

If you pick up an instrument and know how to play it the first time -- if you are studying integral calculus while the other kids are learning to add and subtract -- if you write a poem at 14 that is better than what most adult poets will accomplish in their lifetimes -- then you're a genius.

Of course you could always take an IQ test -- the results can be interesting. But IQ is a pretty coarse measure and doesn't tell us whether you'll be a genius in the creative, as opposed to the purely intellectual, sense. Those who are known as geniuses in the real world have to have much more than talent in their chosen field, they have to have the interest and the drive and the dedication to make something of it. As Edison famously observed, "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration."

Why do intelligent and financially stable people not want kids?

And vice versa.

Kaite Mason, Has a degree in psychology like 60% of all students

Updated 5d ago

“What is that!?”

“Blue.”

“…blue.”

“What is that!?”

“Red.”

“…red.”

“What is that!?”

“Purple.”

“…purple.”

That conversation continued and repeated itself over and over again for twenty minutes as our train launched to a close destination. I attempted to convey as much shortness in my voice that the child wouldn't notice, but her parent would be rather aware of the fact that I had no intention of engaging for any period of time with this small human being who had injected herself into my fiancé and my conversation.

The mother leaned wearily against the glass, her eyes downwards, taking a moment of respite as her toddler chatted up neighbors. My voice softened and I granted her the reprieve she needed.

But I hate conversing with small children. I hate talking to them, working with them–don’t find them cute in the least. Her silent urging of, “please, please give me a moment” only confirmed my dislike towards tiny humans.

Nothing about babies awakens any primal urges to mother them.

The little girl shrieked in enjoyment as I helped guide her through the spectrum of colors on my backpack (why must children shriek? It's the worst noise), and I bit my tongue and made sure the child continued to look at the world with rose-colored lenses.

Children are our future. I know that. And there's no way I'd ever want to be the lesson of how people can be quite cruel to such a young, bright girl.

But it was definitely a solid reminder that parenting was not for me.

People tell me all the time that I'm going to change my mind. They've told me that since I was in high school. Nothing yet. I've found a wonderful significant other who agrees on this vital aspect that decides compatibility.

We're educated, financially stable, and do not want children.

Simply because…we do not want children. We don't like them. Don't want 'em. Unless you take MRI's of our brains, you won't find the real reason.

Note: As I’m sure our petty friends have noticed, this post has been the catalyst for quite a bit of blocking.

Specifically speaking to the sort of commenter who has the lack of discipline that they must go out of their way to leave disparaging feedback: I’m glad you feel as though you are better than me for being so selfless as to force another human being into this world without asking if they wanted to join—and I’m sure you are quite proud of the example you have provided for our next generation by attempting to bully another human being through online, reflexive comments while calling me the lowlife. Oh yes, you are certainly giving back to this world in the only way possible, through procreation. Pat yourself on the back and feel proud of that comment you have left. You are, obviously, the superior person.

Er…what? Are you actually serious right now? Good thing I don't care what, “you think”. That logic is simply bizarre and appalling. I'll “return the favor” by taking care of my mom–you know–the person who took care of me.

Those who politely disagree, thank you for your civility. You are the sort who are wonderful parents, who our next generation needs to look up to for guidance.

What is a depressing fact you've realized after/during your PhD?

Rishabh Jain, MIT PhD

Written Apr 8 · Upvoted by Jessica Su, CS PhD student at Stanford and Steve Johnston, MBA Degree from Wharton

I met my old advisor last year at an alumni event for the department I got my PhD in. We spoke for several minutes about how people in the lab were doing, how some new work was getting published in hot journals, and about the alumni who are now faculty.

What was somewhat sad to me was that there was no conversation about the non-faculty alumni… really says something about the strong bias for staying in academia faculty will often have.

What's something that you should never say to an I.T. person?

Neil Plotnick, Computer Science Teacher

Written Mar 31 · Upvoted by Victor Rutledge, Computer technician from 1984 until retirement. Worked at Dell, Compaq, and others and Alexandru Rosianu, M.Eng. Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence, University of Southampton

I spent 15 years in IT and here are a sample of my favorites:

1: “My keyboard is not working, can you give me a new one?”

I replace the keyboard with a new one and as I carry the old one under my arm, I get doused with the leftover cup of coffee that had been dumped into the “broken” keyboard.

2: “Something is wrong with the file on my floppy disk. Can you check it?”

When I get to the user’s desk, she gets me the bad disk that is being held onto her file cabinet with a magnet.

3: “I heard that there may be a virus on my email attachment, I ran the file to see what it would do.”

4: “I sent an email out to the wrong person 15 minutes ago. Can you stop it?”

5: “I was getting an error message for the past few weeks telling me that the hard drive was failing. I kept clicking OK and everything seemed to work fine….”

6: My boss told me that his UPS did not keep his computer running when we had a power issue. When I crawled under his desk I discovered that the only thing plugged in was his cup warmer.

7: VP of Development was angry and I was asked to check why our backup system was not working properly. I waited in the server room after hours and noticed a spike in activity from our software developers on the network. My investigation revealed that they were all playing a multi-user tank battle game flooding the network with packets. When I reported the issue to their boss the next day, he was pretty furious. All of his developers were being paid overtime and the product was way behind.

8: “Can you check why I’m out of disk space?”

On various occasions I have found profiles of Russian women searching for husbands, videos of zoo animals copulating (not kidding, tear my eyes out!), every single email from the past X years (never deleted a single one!), uncompressed audio files from a CD collection……….

How can I dramatically improve my life in 2 years?

I've graduated from High School 15 years ago and have nothing great to currently show for it. I am employed, I drive, been in failed relationships, have no college degree, have debt, and still live at home. I want to dramatically improve my life by the time I'm 35 and be proud of my accomplishments.

Simon Ng, Father, Employee, Student of Life ~www.livingkindfully.com~

Written Apr 3

Improve your life in 2 years is too long. I will tell teach you a method. You can improve your life in just six months.

In six months, you will feel you luckier. You will be happier. You will be grateful for your life. You will meet more people. Many people will look up to you. I guarantee you this much.

Maybe, you may even find a new relationship and opportunity.

Excited? Here goes….

Starting this week, volunteer your time at your local religious or community centre. Dedicate at least two to three hours a week doing volunteer work.

You will meet more people. You will spend time with people who are in need. People will be grateful for your kindness. You will sharpen your social skill. You may even develop more skills. By going outside your comfort zone, you will develop a deeper insight about yourself. You will bring a smile to many people. You will be more confident.

The world need more people to spread kindness and make it a better place to live.

In six month’s time, you can tell yourself, you have made people smile and have made someone’s life slightly better. That is an accomplishment!

What is the greatest persuasion tactic to use?

Phil Callaghan, I study behaviour and teach Mindskills

Updated Apr 10

Here’s a persuasion tactic that you can use instantly.

With this simple piece of language, you’ll be able to reopen your line of persuasion after being closed out.

As with many of my other mind hacks, this one is designed to deal with those who will shut you down through reflex. Annoying, right?

Here’s the way to get a fair hearing for your proposal.

The ‘But’ Flip

One of the most common ways to shut someone down is to use the word ‘but’.

Some examples:

“Your proposal is good, but we just don’t have the resources”

“I do want to buy a Porsche from you, but you don’t have it in pink”

The word ‘but’ seems to reject everything that came before it. Ouch.

The obvious next step after delivering these bombshells is for them to walk away. Proposal ignored, sale not made. Misery.

Or you could use the following tactic to re-open the interaction:

Reverse the sequence of what comes before and after the ‘but’.

In our examples:

“We don’t have the resources, but you agree the proposal is good, so can we look at alternative ways of making it happen?”

“We don’t have it in pink, but you do want to buy a Porsche from us, so if you pick out the model you want, I’ll speak to the re-sprayers…”

Suddenly we’re back in business and can get a second (or even a third or fourth) go at persuading them.

This approach allows you to re-focus on what’s important (by flipping the ‘but’) and then you can keep negotiating until you get a win-win.

Test it out for yourself - simple, effective persuasive.

Is getting an MBA worth it?

Derrick Williams, Have an MBA. I use it sometimes!

Written 22 Dec 2015

I have an MBA, and while I'm happy to have one, I think I got it for the wrong reasons. If I had to do it again, I would have gotten something in the hard sciences like cryptography or mathematics (just my personal choice).

In the late 1990's and early 2000's, MBA's were something of a fad, simply everyone was getting one. Coupled at the time was the fact I was working for IBM, and could not conceive the possibility of working anywhere else. I loved working there and was really proud of being an IBMer. I was going to work there forever!

Then the layoffs and offshoring of IBM jobs started happening, and in one meeting my then PDM (personnel development manager) made an offhand remark that everyone except the MBA's were getting laid off. While that alone didn't set me off, it was the spark to apply for business school that very day. I got into a reputable one (although not Harvard or Kellogg, just a established accredited school with good rankings), did fairly well, and got laid off from IBM anyway. My last few months at IBM was me scrambling away from technology and into sales, which I didn't like much after all, but if it kept me at IBM, maybe I could learn to like it. A moot point, I was terminated with some 10,000 other people at the same time.

The MBA did help me find new work though, and helped me with my career and the ability to evaluate new projects and work better with people, and made me comfortable with leadership. I don't necessarily like being in management, but given the choice between me and someone else with little experience, I can step up.

So to answer your question, since it seems you want a yes or no answer, I would say no, the MBA is not worth getting.

To qualify this 'no':

1) The MBA program is something you can learn on your own. Subscribe to the Harvard Business Journal, read the classic MBA textbooks, and there just might be a free MBA type course you can take online. This assumes you are interested in knowledge and not just the credentials.

2) The MBA program is a lot about networking. If you get to a top ranking program like Kellogg or Harvard, you will make excellent connections, and that alone can be worth the money. Going to a good ranking but otherwise unremarkable school like I did got me some new friends, but not make connections that would be invaluable. I have connections with very nice people working as middle managers for Fortune 500 and small companies, not future presidents of the United States.

3) If credentials are important, I would strongly recommend you get a 'hard' credential in science or mathematics, the kind of skill that products are built on. You can still learn the soft MBA skills on your own on top of that.

So that's my take on it. Your mileage may vary!

Derrick

How do honest people recognize each other?

This was inspired by the question on here, ‘how do intelligent people recognize each other.’

Josh Fechter, Growth Evangelist @AutopilotHQ | Advisor @Praxis | Mentor

Written Apr 1

They talk about their failures with laughter.

Relationships:

“She broke up with me.

I didn’t give her any attention. It was my fault.”

Family:

“I didn’t talk to my sister for years.

I was stubborn. I said sorry, but it still hurts.”

Startups:

“My startup failed.

I treated my employees and co-founders poorly. It was my fault.”

Laughter is important because it shows you matured to where you don’t sulk in sadness, but can laugh at how foolish you once were. It’s beautiful.

When I want to work with someone, I ask them about their failures. If they don’t take responsibility, then I know they’re not honest. They still have a lot of growing up to do.

What are some clever uses of the placebo effect?

Toby Benoit

Written Mar 15 · Upvoted by Geoff Verschoor, MA Psychology and 40+ years experience in organizational behaviour

Oh, I love this one…

Worked in a shoe store for several years (yeah yeah, Al Bundy). The store manager was very fun, but a tiny bit “used car salesman”.

Customer bought some shoes that were too small. We insisted they were too small, but since they were the last pair at clearance, he was sure they’d fit.

Comes back in day later, surprise, shoes are too tight. Duh. We put them on the shoe stretcher (hand crank device that fits inside a shoe, works great if issue is width). Tries them in store, say great, takes them and leaves.

Comes back next day, same story. Manager sprays some water (ok, pours water) inside shoe, applies hand crank, tells guy to come back next day. Leaves on stretcher overnight… With water and pressure, it WILL become wider (still not going to get longer).

Guy comes back, tried them on, still too tight. Manager says, “OK, i’M GOING TO PUT THEM ON THE ELECTRIC SHOE STRETCHER!”.

Goes to back room, and I hear an all too familiar VROOOOOM… I used this machine every night to clean up

Gives them to customer and says “try that, it always works”

It worked, never saw him again...